​This story has been updated to correct the team who drafted Bland. Collin Bland, a Vanderbilt baseball recruit, was selected in the fourth round of the 2026 MLB Draft by the Tampa Bay Rays on July 11. Bland is expected to sign with the Rays and begin his professional career rather than return to play for the Commodores.
Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin kept an eye on his players during the first inning of a game against South Carolina at Hawkins Field in Nashville, Tennessee, on Thursday, May 14, 2026. (ANDREW NELLES / THE TENNESSEAN) Bland was listed as the No. 58 prospect in the 2026 class by Perfect Game and attended Houston High School in Memphis. He did not appear in MLB Pipeline’s top 250 prospects at the time. He garnered attention primarily for his exceptional raw power, delivering some of the highest exit velocities at the MLB Draft combine.
Committed to Vanderbilt since November 2024, Bland was barely ranked within the top 500 high school prospects at that time, but his stock has climbed steadily since then. Nevertheless, he was viewed as a player whose path might lead him to campus, potentially bolstering the Commodores’ offense for the next three years before moving on to professional baseball.
Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. She can be reached at agerson@gannett.com or on X @aria_gerson. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean under the title Vanderbilt baseball signee Collin Bland to Rays in 2026 MLB Draft.